deadtowrites

Who needs a gender assignment test when we can humiliate them with a good old fashioned DL witch hunt.

DDP update? Will it change the positions? Master Mind the winner? Has anyone told Mr Scream. No, no, no and no, I'm afraid. At last, a fitting tribute for one of the top 10ish SIGNIFICANT deaths of 2009. Now that's what I call recognition.

I agree. I'll take a beer and a summat (that's an English sausage, right?) English sausages can sometimes be on the large side, especially those that are particularly chargrilled. You might have to make a bit of room first.

She appears to have a touch of the Leslie Ash look about her.

Me neither. Here is another link. Never heard of the Chicago Tribune either.

That's a rule for the CPDP, having a Wiki page doesn't count & never has counted for the DDP, so they can make as many Wiki pages as they like & DDP Towers will just shrug its shoulders. Again the code probably rules that & the pool death out, but the Derby bit might be possible.... I can look at that. Sorry, I'm being a bit of a naysayer-type nitpicking boring prat, I know but I know which rules will work with that code & which won't..... Ah, you've not quite understood. Irrespective of whether the magic code will work what I meant was a bonus for managing to choose someone who is famous enough for a national obit but escaped the anal radar such that nobody has made a wikipedia page for them. Which considering the amount of crap on wikipedia would probably be virtually impossible. So objective is NOT to have a wiki page.

Agreed, an end of year bonus should be bigger, just like Man U scoring 2 goals in extra time to win some tin pot trophy leaving it all to play for etc. Merely suggestions but how's about a bonus if your chosen celebrity dies in Derby or for that matter in a pool (20 of Barrymore's nearest and dearest should about do it). Probably a much rarer occurence, bonus for picking someone to die that will have an obituary but not a Wikipedia page (prior to 2010 to stop bitter rivals creating pages after the A-Z goes public).

Ooh! That'll shake things up on the DDP if she gets an obit. It could be a nervous wait for Master Mind. What do you mean "if"? I thought that rugby was a popular sport in Old Blighty. Wouldn't ARod get an obit in the USA? It is but.. women's rugby isn't. Just like women's football in the US isn't. She's relatively unknown to the vast majority of ppl (I didn't know who she was until I saw her in the DDP and did a bit of research).... Strangely enough they have heard of her in Twickenham. A Guardian obit.

In view of the recent enthusiasm for all things poetic I think now is the time to launch the spangly DeathList Poetry Competition. Only one entry per person (plus of course unesteemed pseudoguests) so do your very bestest to impress our very own Bardess of the IOM, Yvonne. The poem should have some kind of tenious link to the DL fora, Dunn, squids, Hadron colliders. Significant or otherwise. Any style goes. Deadline, let's say halloween, so Saturday 31st October. The phone lines can then open to put the entries to the public vote or we could just save the bother and get our resident scribe Yvonne to pick.

Perhaps a horsey Swayze tattoos? As luck would have it, the rainbow feature is quite apt.

So irrefutable proof, if proof were so needed, that Yvonne can continue in her role here on the DL without criticism. Long may we have the pleasure of reading poems about dead animals and Patrick Swayze. Congratulations.

Looks like Yvonne is going to have her work cut out, there are some great adaptations there. Just to remind you that the closing date is midnight, Halloween, i.e today. You'd do well to get a wriggle on those who want to be critiqued by our resident poet. Oh and to avoid arguments let's go with GMT.

I considered him for the DDP this year. I was only reading an article from him a couple of days ago about the legendarily awful US-based Irish football commentator Tommy Smyth. Seemed to have an unhealthy hatred for The Smiths/Morrissey. Basically he was born white and he didn't like that one bit... Glad you didn't follow through as I think that gives me and my alterego an additional 3 points unique pick bonus.

Wow, I was under the impression everyone had to have a Dr Jekyll to their Mr Hyde. Another unique user, does this bring the total number of real people into double figures yet?

Seeing as you asked, of course I wrote it. Misinterpretation of statistics is a dangerous thing, left in the hands of certain journalists it can lead to wide spread panic. However he probably has had his (silicon) chips. Regards your figure of 98%, may I refer you to point 3. If only 57% of statistics are made up on the spot there is a greater chance that more than 2% of statistics are right thus rendering your 98% of all statistics are wrong as tosh. Of course, either my point 3 or your 98% could have been made up on the spot rendering them both tosh. Indeed, if your 98% was in fact party to the comment that 98% of all statistics are wrong then where does that leave us?

Happy birthday Death Watch Beatle

Just like the last poster... Geronimooooo

You could just keep it going all year and have an overall winner and have a winner for each month as well, based on who accrued the most points in any given month using whatever point scoring system you feel like. Just a suggestion, like.

After a recent discussion with a fellow DLer, I went on a wikihunt for Welsh Comedians and found these two comedians who seem to be old yet going strong. Wyn Calvin and Stan Stennett. As it stands*, all Welsh born comedians who are remotely funny seem to have either moved in their infancies to the right side, sorry, east side of Offas Dyke or had public schooling in England. (Griff Rhys Jones, Dawn French, Paul Whitehouse, Keith Allen and Terry Jones for the benefit of BC Alum who it would appear adores lists). And yes, Rob Anton de Beke Brydon is absent for a reason. He is sh*t. * from Wiki and my personal appraisal of the wiki list of Welsh comedians. There's nothing like some good old fashioned bias in a DL post

Unless I am missing something here but how exactly do you go about banning someone on the DDP? It all seems a bit playground (futile and pointless) so why bother? I mean, it's not as if one can't change email address or ip, so who's to know eh? Perhaps half the entrants are in fact this Tempus chap. I've no idea what the grievances are but if we'd all put half this much energy into a more worthy cause, say boycotting Israeli goods, who knows what we'd achieve?

Statistics 101 All statistics are meaningless 1. Sample size - In medical studies, as with all scientific testing, results should withstand rigorous scrutiny. Studies should therefore be based on an adequate sample size. 2. Average - Is just a word in the dictionary. Forget qualitative, think quantitative. Example: The Gaussian distribution A symmetrical distribution based around a mean. This means that 50% of the population lie ABOVE the mean. If the average survival rate of disease X was 5 years then 50% of the population would, on average, live longer than five years, assuming of course the population follows a Gaussian distribution. (The distribution could be wider than that with confidence intervals set many years after that "average magic year of death". 3. 57% of statistics are made up on the spot. 4. Statistics in the hands of laymen can and generally are (mis)interpreted any which way they like. The media are especially evil in this respect (revisit MMR sites for confirmation). 5. 65-85% five year survival rate means that between 65 to 85% live to AT LEAST five years beyond diagnosis. Steve Jobs having being diagnosed in 2004, arbitrarily lets say Jan 2004, means that he has survived 5 years so far and thus not in the 15-35% of population that are expected to die before the fifth year. From this statement we do not know what the distribution is like nor can we infer anything more. Seeing all the data is critical, diagrams help, though stats can be manipulated just ask any government. Qualitative statements do not give the full picture. 6. Steve Jobs is on my DDP team All statistics are meaningless. QED Yeah, but he was diagnosed in 2004....

MPFC takes vow of silence: I've just realised that in order not to knock yourself out of the running you can only make one more post until your competition is over! Do we get to take a vote as to what 7,000 posts equates to? Can we collectively decide what follows sad wankerdom?

Alas it won't win her many prizes in a Holby/Casualty drinking game. A hypotensive hemothorax, guaranteed to result in death to any actor it is bestowed upon, after passing by 360, Us&Es, LFTs etc...

I'm confused. Is the poem being addressed to mister pneumonia, as the first line suggests, or Patrick Swayze? You can't have it both ways, Yvonne. The Mr. Men should introduce a "mister pneumonia", who'd always be coughing and spluttering all over people, and causing those who already had some other illness to drop dead. The kids would love him. Particularly those children who ride Variety Club Sunshine Coaches?